Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep 2:12:1390582.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1390582. eCollection 2024.

Socioeconomic determinants and self-rated health among hotel housekeepers in the Balearic Islands (Spain)

Xenia Chela-Alvarez  1   2   3 , Alfonso Leiva  1   2   3 , Oana Bulilete  1   2   3 , Joan Llobera  1   2   3
Affiliations

Socioeconomic determinants and self-rated health among hotel housekeepers in the Balearic Islands (Spain)

Xenia Chela-Alvarez et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Hotel housekeepers constitute an important occupational group in the Balearic Islands (Spain). Housekeeping is considered low-skilled and precarious and typically involves high physical demands and time pressure. The aim of this study is to analyze the association between the socioeconomic determinants of health and hotel housekeepers' self-rated health.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Primary Health Care in the Balearic Islands (November 2018-February 2019). Hotel housekeepers over 18 years of age with free access to the Balearic Public Health System who had been employed during 2018 were eligible.

Results: We enrolled 1,043 hotel housekeepers; the mean score of health perceived status was 72.4/100 (SD 19.0). Those with a lower self-perceived health were statistically significant older, had Spanish nationality, lower level of studies, permanent or recurring seasonal contract, financial difficulties, a higher level of occupational stress, an external locus of control, reported work-life balance difficulties, were former smokers, insufficiently physical active and obese. We found lower scores in self-perceived health status score of -7.159 (CI95% -10.20- -4.12) among hotel housekeepers with osteoarthritis; -6.858 (CI95% -11.89- -1.82) among those with chronic depression; -3.697 (CI95% -6.08- -1.31) among those who reported difficulties in work-life balance; -2.414 (CI95% -4.69- -0.13) among participants who performed insufficient physical activity; -2.107 (CI% -4.44- -0.23) among those who reported financial strain. Lower self-rated health was also associated to a higher perceived stress, -1.440 (CI95% -2.09- -0.79); BMI (kg/m2), -0.299 (CI95% -0.53- -0.07); and longer time working as HH -0.177 (CI95% -0.33- -0.03).

Conclusion: Our results underscore the importance of psychosocial (such as difficulties in work-life balance and occupational stress) and material factors (such as financial difficulties) when explaining differences in self-perceived health. Public health interventions aimed at improving health status must consider inequalities in material and working conditions.

Keywords: financial strain; hotel housekeepers; lifestyles; occupational stress; self-rated health; social determinants of health; work–family conflict.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Government of India . Estudio del impacto económico del Turismo sobre la economía y el empleo de las Islas Baleares. (2015). Available at: http://www.exceltur.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/IMPACTUR-Baleares-201... (Accessed October 27, 2023).
    1. Chela-Alvarez X, Bulilete O, García-Buades ME, Ferrer-Perez VA, Llobera-Canaves J. Perceived factors of stress and its outcomes among hotel housekeepers in the Balearic Islands: a qualitative approach from a gender perspective. Int J Environ Res Public Health. (2021) 18:18. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18010052 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hunter Powell P, Watson D. Service unseen: the hotel room attendant at work. Int J Hosp Manag. (2006) 25:297–312. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2005.04.003 - DOI
    1. Krause N, Scherzer T, Rugulies R. Physical workload, work intensification, and prevalence of pain in low wage workers: results from a participatory research project with hotel room cleaners in Las Vegas. Am J Ind Med. (2005) 48:326–37. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20221, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wami SD, Abere G, Dessie A, Getachew D. Work-related risk factors and the prevalence of low back pain among low wage workers: results from a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. (2019) 19:1072–9. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7430-9, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources